Don't Say A Word

SONATA ARCTICA

Sortie le: 2004-08-30

After 2003's masterpiece "Winterheart's Guild", the expectations for the next SONATA ARCTICA album were more than high. But singer Tony Kakko and his four fellows passed the prospects with flying colours!

Formed 1996 in the Finish town of Kemi, the band wasn't called SONATA ARCTICA yet but TRICKY BEANS. After producing three demos – which in fact had nothing to do with heavy metal – and gaining first live experiences, the name was changed to TRICKY MEANS and the guys started to explore the harder side of music. Soon some typical trademarks emerged in the form of fast and melodic keyboards as well as heavy riffs and clean & high vocals.
The demo "FullMoon" attracted the attention of Finish label Spinefarm, where the band signed a contract and finally assumed the name SONATA ARCTICA. The first SONATA ARCTICA single "UnOpened" was released in summer 1999, debut album "Ecliptica" followed in autumn.

Very well accepted by the metal fans, this longplayer opened many doors for the band, providing them with a role as supporting act for STRATOVARIUS in the beginning of 2000. On this tour (which also featured Italian Melodic metallers RHAPSODY), SONATA ARCTICA played more than 30 gigs in ten different countries and gained a lot of new fans. Mini-CD "Successor" came out in 2000, the same year SONATA ARCTICA got nominated in the category "best newcomer-act" by Emma Finland; in spring 2001, the guys opened two Finish shows for ALICE COOPER during the "Monsters Of The Millennium Tour".

The next single "Wolf & Raven" and second album "Silence" made the 'SONATA ARCTICA mania perfect. The Finns also got very popular in Japan where they played their first gigs in September 2001 and sold many records at that time. 2003s "Winterheart's Guild" set new standards in the genre of Melodic Power Metal, making SONATA ARCTICA the stars of that scene finally. Hardly another band could come up with their multi-faceted style and power and songs like 'Broken', 'The Cage' or 'Victoria's Secret' became eternal classics!! In late 2003, SONATA ARCTICA signed a contract with German label Nuclear Blast and started recording "Reckoning Night" soon afterwards, ready to top its predecessor once more!